By way of example, various systems for transmitting data produced by a large number of subscribers from one location to another are known, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,729 to Eddy et al. Typically time division multiplexing is used to combine data into a multiplexed data stream and transmitted over a transmission network, including telephone lines, radio transmission equipment, and the like. As further illustrated by way of example, bus lines between peripheral devices and a central control transmit data for controlling pulsed data information through various desirable conductive paths, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,871 to Ely et al. Such multiplexing systems, and those known in the art, typically require separate wires for power, synchronizing clock pulses, and data. Other methods of transferring data with power require the use of a radio frequency carrier, which requires complex filtering and circuitry for the modulation and demodulation of the data. Further, it is well known that the number of devices that can typically be connected to a multiplexed bus is undesirably limited.
There is a need for providing a multiplexed bus system of transmitting and receiving data with a minimal number of components, which will dramatically reduce the cost of the multiplex system. Further, there is a need for such a system that will support many hundreds of transceivers for communicating with input and output devices.